ostdc

Farm Hunter, I'm interested in the fifty year plan. How in the world do you plan for the next fifty years?
I have a five year plan. Past that it is just waiting and maintenance other than my yearly food plots.
Brian

BrutalAttack

This is (essentially) how ecosystem managers plan for out to 100 years:

1. Decide on a DFC (desired future condition). What do you want the place to look like in the next 50 years? What is your ultimate goal or is there more than one goal? Do you want more deer? Less deer? More quail? You see my point?

2. Determine long range goals. Decide what you want to do to acheive your DFC. Would you like to increase deer forage? Would you like to increase winter cover for deer? Want to raise corn? Want to increase wet areas? Whatever just write them down.

3. Determine short range goals that will acheive your long range goals. What do you need to do in the next 1-5 years to make your long range goals happen.

So Long range goal #1 is: Increase forage for deer
The short range goal for that might be: Plant a total of 20 acres of deer forage in the next 2-5 years.

4. Make some specific management actions that will acheive your short range goals. What specifically can you do in the next 2-5 years to achieve your short range goals and how will you do it?

Using the example above..
Short range goal #1 is to plant 20 acres of deer forage.
management action to achieve that goal is: Hire your neighbor and his tractor to plant approx 500 lbs of forage mixture that you have purchased.

5. Set up a monitoring plan: Ask yourself this on a yearly basis: are my management actions acheiving my short range goals? Are my short range goals still going to make my long range goals a reality? Have I decided I want something different on my land in the next 50 years (different DFC)?

The general setup would look like this:

Desired Future Condition

Long Range Goal 1

Short Range Goal 1.1
mangement action 1.1.1
management action 1.1.2

Short Range Goal 1.2
mangement action 1.2.1
Mangement action 1.2.2

Long Range Goal 2

Short Range Goal 2.1
management action 2.1.1
management action 2.1.2

Short Range goal 2.2
management action 2.2.1
management action 2.2.2

Long Range Goal 3
Short Range goal 3.1
management action 3.1.1
management action 3.1.2

Short Range goal 3.2
management action 3.2.1


You may have many long and/or short range goals and as many management actions as you feel it takes to acheive those goals.


Does this make sense?

farm hunter

ostdc

It does sound kind of funny doesn't it? - But thats right - I have a 50 year plan for the property - not for the deer herd (thats a different plan). I think to many people consider planting trees, but most never really consider the long range outcome. The saying goes "the best time to plant trees is right now, or preferably when your Grandfather was young". So - The 20 acre field in front of the Cabin we built is being transformed into several Food plots - and Tree/shrub plantings.

I'm planting for my kids and their kids. I want them to go into the section of oaks, and know that their Grandfather planted them - for their benefit. Same goes for the orchard, windbreaks, and sugar bush I'm planting.

I don't have the money ( or time ) to do all the planting and transplanting I want to do in one year - so I have a 10 year plan for the planting of trees - hardwoods and conifers both. I want the property to be "special" but not exotic in fuana- I'm 4 years in and things are coming together - My spruce & pines are now waist high and cover about 4 acres. I'm using the conifers as nurse trees fo the hard wood groves I hope to end up with - and will enjoy the cover/partitioning of the field the will provde in 10 years -

I've interspersed White oaks that are now 2 years old and REALLY Small still - but growing in and on the edges of the soft woods. They need mainatinence and new oak plantings are made every year for 10 years. I've got Shoulder Height White Birch, and Apples - and my transplanted Sugar maples are 8-12 ft tall (20 trees 30 ft apart) on the hill next to the cabin. I'm still considering a couple more plantings - like Hickory, and butternut.

I also work to maintain the mature and maturing native woods we have, and while my father still owns the property he lets me plan for it. He will probably have the fist logging done on the property since the 1940s - in a couple years - and it will be an overdue thinning of some really nice Cherry, Ash and Maple.

After 10 years (2010) - I hope to have all my plantings done - Thats all the real HARD work. The next 20 years is Maintanence/ light replanting and the last 20 years is thinning. Of course - I fully plan on enjoying the results along the way - Its not like I'll have to wait 50 years to be able to enjoy the end result.

What really got me going on the project was the demise of My Great Grandfather's orchards around the old homestead - (Burnt in 1940s - and never rebuilt). When I was young over 20 years ago, we could still pick plums, apples, currants, Rasberrys, Blackberrys, Gooseberrys, Butternuts, elderberry and Concord Grapes. The trees/shrubs were getting old, of course - and now all's thats left are a couple BIG old apples, Horseradish and the Grapes, (a wilder version of Concord) - I really wanted my kids to be able to do what I did - but sadly they cannot to the same extent - I've enlisted them in re-planting - and planning - and hopefully these memories will be as strong for them as reaping the rewards were for me as a young kid.

I hope that answers your question - Its not a real scientific plan - but its a well thought out - and ever-evolving plan - and I thouroghly enjoy it.